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Here's How to Get More Business by Writing Better Ads.
By Jeffrey Dobkin
PART ONE
All my ads say the same thing--call, write or come in. If a customer hasn't done any of these, we didn't get his business. At one point, the advertisement has to stimulate this response or the ad fails.
The process of writing every ad starts exactly the same way: write your objectives in the upper right hand corner of a blank sheet of paper. Nothing kills off an ad more than having no objective. It should say one or more of the above--call, write, come in. This is a reminder that the response you are seeking is the reason for your ad. Draft your entire ad with your objectives in mind. Every line, every word, every graphic--does it increase your response?
The importance of writing the objective of the ad can best be demonstrated by example. I was once called in for a consultation by a large real estate company whose sales were slipping. After an hour's discussion with the owner, who had over fifty years of experience in selling real estate, I outlined the consulting agreement: we'd meet for ten hours or so and I'd outline a plan to increase his sales.
Disbelievingly, he flatly stated, "I have over fifty years of experience selling real estate. Do you mean to tell me in ten hours of meetings you're going to show me how to sell more houses?"
"Yes," I replied.
"Sir," he said, in continued disbelief. "I have forgotten more about selling houses than you will ever learn in your life."
He was right--it was true.
Too bad the reply, "Sir, I have forgotten more about advertising than you have learned in fifty years selling houses," didn't come to me until months later. Isn't hindsight wonderful? It always lets you know you could have said something more clever, now that it's too late.
We spent a good deal of time reviewing the listings for houses in the real estate sections of the local newspapers When I asked him the objective of the very expensive 1/3 page ads he ran day after day, month after month, he told me quite sincerely--"To sell houses."
When I asked him the purpose of the individual listIngs within these ads, again he replied, "To sell a house."
He was partly right. He had forgotten even more about selling houses than he thought. The objective of the ad was not to sell a house. No one sees a four-line listing and buys a house. The objective of each listing was to generate a phone call. The objective of the entire ad was to generate phone calls. I've never known anyone to see a listing for a house in a newspaper and send a down payment. They see the ad and --if it works--they pick up the phone.
RULE NUMBER ONE--The objective of an ad is generally not to sell the product. The objective is to generate phone calls or some other response.
So I proposed a format change in each listing. "Call now," the new ads said. "Call for an immediate appointment." "For information call..."
And we gave the phone number in a multitude of places. After customers read our ads, with all the boxes saying "Call Now," and the phone number showing repeatedly, my client's phone calls tripled the very first week. That's the value of first writing the objective of the ad, then writing the ad to fulfill the objective.
And this lesson was much more expensive for him than for you.
Jeffrey Dobkin is a speaker, direct mail copywriter, and marketing consultant. His book, HOW TO MARKET A PRODUCT FOR UNDER $500, is available from
Danielle Adams Publishing Company Box 100 Merion Station, PA 19066
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